Two moms face charges after fistfight at Lakeview Elementary talent show

June 5, 2013|By Desiree Stennett, Orlando Sentinel

Second graders at Lakeview Elementary School sang and danced while family and friends looked on at a talent show last week — but two moms brawling in the audience stole the show.

The women, 39-year-old Latisha James and 27-year-old Jessica Tyler, both face battery charges and have been banned from the St. Cloud school.

James and Tyler were strangers before Friday's fight.

James, who was lucky enough to get a seat closer to the stage, was standing to get a clear view of her child's performance but blocked Tyler's view as she tried to take photos from a few rows back.

Tyler said she walked up to James and asked her to sit down so she could get a clear shot. But James, Tyler said, laced her refusal with profane language — although James never admitted to cursing at the woman.

Tyler briefly returned to her seat before standing again, walking in front of James and snapping a few pictures before walking back to her seat again. At this point, the stories vary.

Tyler said she walked straight back to her seat and accidentally bumped into a small child who was with James and knocked the child to the floor. Tyler said she kept walking without saying a word, the report said.

James is accused of following the woman to her seat, grabbing her by the throat and punching her several times.

According to a school staffer, Leigh Fields, when Tyler was finished taking her pictures she said something to James then returned to her seat with James in hot pursuit.

When James talked to police on Sunday,

James told investigators that when Tyler bumped her child, she confronted Tyler, who said, "I told you to move," before pushing James on the shoulder.

James said she then grabbed Tyler by the throat and a fistfight broke out in a crowd of parents, children and friends.

James, who police spokeswoman Sgt. Denise Roberts said is thought to be the primary aggressor, was arrested Sunday night on battery charges.

Although Tyler was not immediately arrested, both women have been listed as both suspects and victims in the incident and intend to file charges against the other, police said.

For Tyler, her battery charges were passed on to the State Attorney's Office, which will determine if she should be prosecuted.